DMP targets residential market with new panel

By Leischen Stelter, associate editor - 07.03.2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Digital Monitoring Products unveiled its XT Series Burglary/Fire/Door Access Panel here at the ESX show on June 26 in an effort to expand its presence into the residential market.

"We're looking to increase our market share," Mark Hillenburg, product architect for DMP, told Security Systems News during an interview at ESX. "Traditionally we were 70 percent commercial, either large or small. A number of our dealers used our products for their commercial accounts and another product for residential--we want all their business."

Hillenburg said the XT Series panel is both an economical and practical choice for dealers: "It's most realistically the least expensive control panel in its class" and includes a network, cellular and dialer communication path along with a two-way wireless receiver, all built into the panel. Hillenburg said DMP developed the "all on-board" concept to alleviate the need for installers to have to add features later. "We rolled all that into one product line using new technology to better address the market," he said. The all-on-board concept also allows easier installation and "any time you lower the installation time, you're doing a huge favor to installers," he said.

The XT series is available in two models. The XT30 supports 10 on-board zones and 20 additional zones including a dialer. The XT50 is available with or without a dialer and also supports 10 on-board zones.

While the panel was unveiled at the ESX show, it will not be available to dealers until July 11. Hillenburg said DMP spent about nine months developing the XT Series panel behind closed doors, even giving it the code name "wildfire."

"It was all done in secret," he said. "Certain customers signed on to do the field testing and we installed it at some employees residences," but the majority of DMP employees and dealers did not know about the product's existence until recently.